The owner of Saks and Neiman Marcus was expected to file for bankruptcy early Wednesday — and is handing the former CEO of Neiman Marcus a massive signing bonus to supervise the luxury giant’s reorganization, The Post has learned.
Pentwater Capital Management and Bracebridge Capital have beat out bond-trading giant Pimco with a $1.75 billion debtor-in-possession, or DIP, loan to keep Saks Global afloat during a Chapter 11 filing, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Post.
Pimco was a co-owner of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman when the retailers were sold to Saks in a blockbuster $2.6 billion deal in 2024.
Geoffroy van Raemdonck, who led Neiman Marcus for nearly seven years and left the company in 2024 when it was acquired by Saks, has been tapped to steer the retail behemoth through its restructuring, sources said.
The Belgium-born executive is returning with two of his trusted deputies – Darcy Penick, former president of Bergdorf Goodman, and Lana Todorovich, former chief merchandising officer of Neiman Marcus during van Raemdonck’s tenure, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Post.
Van Raemdonck was set to land a juicy $7 million signing bonus, while Penick and Todorovich were in line to share $3 million in bonus cash to join the company, sources said. The bonuses were approved by Saks Global’s new independent board members and were being paid in advance of the filing, the source said.
Van Raemdonck succeeds real estate mogul Richard Baker, who stepped down on Tuesday as CEO of Saks Global. Baker, who created the world’s largest luxury retailer in 2024 by merging Saks with Neiman and Bergdorf, took over as CEO just two weeks ago, after Marc Metrick stepped down amid the company’s financial struggles.
Van Raemdonck led Neiman Marcus through a five-month bankruptcy during the coronavirus pandemic. Viewed by some veteran executives of the Dallas-based retailer as an outsider, he irked staffers as he slashed jobs and benefits for the rank-and-file while reaping fat bonuses for himself and other top executives.
Van Raemdonck’s tall task at Saks Global will include closing some of Saks Fifth Avenue’s 33 stores and Neiman Marcus’ 36 locations. He’ll also review about 100 Saks off 5th stores, though the two Bergdorf Goodman stores — viewed as the crown jewels of Saks Global — are likely to stay open.
On top of that, the exec will have to smooth over relations with the retailer’s vendors that have not been paid in full for more than a year, as the company had difficulties paying the interest on the debt it took on to acquire Neiman Marcus. Saks was unable to come up with a $100 million for the deal in December — putting the bankruptcy filing into motion.
Pentwater Capital CEO Matthew Halbower has been trying to woo vendors back into the fold, reaching out to them personally to “tell them that he is putting up $500 million of the DIP,” the source told The Post.
Van Raemdonck could not be reached for comment. Penick and Todorovich did not immediately return calls requesting comment.
Halbower — a Florida-based hedge fund manager who, as reported by The Post in 2022, made a bundle off Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter even as Halbower’s house got ravaged by Hurricane Ian — declined to comment on Tuesday.
Boston-based Bainbridge did not return calls seeking comment.
